December 28, 2011

/ Griffin being a good sport while I photograph him in my faux fur ''russian hat'' hehe /

/ Heavenly deliciousness in the form of a homemade vegan pizza /

Early tomorrow morning we fly back to Vancouver. Thankfully I'm already packed (albeit with an extra suitcase in tow) so we are taking tonight to relax & watch one of my favourite movies, Midnight in Paris. This holiday has been a lovely one, but I am really looking forward to getting back to Vancouver, putting my New Year's resolutions into practice, & gaining back a little independence. That, & decent temperatures again! (It was -21 with windchill here in Ottawa today; whereas +10 in Vancouver; you lucky people).

The outfit I chose for the flight is simple, comfy, & layered so I don't freeze to death. With suitcase space somewhat lacking, I have no choice but to wear my kitten Lita's as they otherwise refuse to fit in. So much for plane practical footwear ;)

December 27, 2011

I hope each & every one of you had a fantastic Christmas - here are some bits & pieces of mine :)

Christmas doggies :)

Delicious tofurkey!

And here are some of the lovely little gifts I received:

A Zara faux fur vest I've had my eye on for awhile - can't wait to wear this one!

So much velvet!

This was the first Christmas away from my family, so there were many changes & admittedly, much homesickness. I called my Mom about 10 times, & skyped with my entire family; so that certainly helped. All the same, I did have a lovely time. So much delicious vegan food, delightful gifts, & (at my demand) plenty of christmas movies :)

Tomorrow is our last day in Ottawa; then back to Vancouver & 'real life'. Between obligations & cold weather we have been very poor tourists in this city, so tomorrow I am really hoping for a solid day of exploring downtown & the Parliament buildings.

For now however, I'm off to curl up with a blanket & a good movie. Have a wonderful evening! <3

December 25, 2011

I just wanted to do a quick post to thank my readers for having been so supportive since I began this blog several months ago. Your support & feedback has meant so much to me this year! I'm also really looking forward to sharing the year ahead with you :)

I hope your holidays have been absolutely delightful & you've all had a wonderful time with family & friends. I'll fill you in on my holiday in Ottawa as soon as I get a spare moment!

These photos were taken yesterday on Christmas eve. With the temperature hovering around -15 Celsius it was somewhat painful to be outside sans coat. My 'russian hat' helped, but admittedly wasn't the most photogenic. Ditto on the ASOS paperbag waist trousers (last Christmas) & River Island wool socks. I was hoping to take photos outside today in my Christmas dress but it's just to cold to bear! Instead I'm curled up with a blanket & that's where I intend to remain until Christmas supper is served.

December 22, 2011

With the weather more like that of early Spring, why not add some florals into the mix? Today we spent simply relaxing & this is what I wore/am currently wearing. This floral dress is very dainty & summery, but I decided to pair it with my cosy grey knit from Banana Republic to make it winter-wearable. Simple & comfortable :)

I was wearing:

Grey knit jumper - Banana Republic, Heritage Collection

Floral dress - Jasmine London

Paloma wedges - Dolce Vita

Tonight I'm looking forward to making popcorn & watching some of my favourite Christmas movies; after all it is a little vacation for me! The forecast calls for snow overnight - fingers crossed, as I'm determined to get in a snowy photoshoot before we leave Ontario! Either way, expect a lookbook post in the morning :)

December 21, 2011

I apologize for the lack of outfit posts, but Christmas is in the air! And with it come all those family obligations & preparations for Christmas day. Today we spent a solid 6 hours at the Rideau Centre searching for the perfect presents... and a couple treats for ourselves hehe :) Most of them will be wrapped up until Christmas day, but I will show you these two simple treats:

Adorable bow earrings with a rosy drop bead; an early present from Matt's mom, acquired at the By Ward Market // My annual Christmas pyjama's; these I got from Joe Fresh about an hour before our flight out of Vancouver.

Here in Ottawa the rain is pouring & the little snow that greeted us this morning has turned to ice. My hopes are still high for a white Christmas however (Violetta I know you empathize with me on this one! ;) Tonight we're ordering in Thai & doing some present-wrapping - I just love relaxing evenings :)

December 19, 2011

As afore-mentioned, this year I'll be spending Christmas in Ottawa. We arrived late Saturday night & have been in constant motion ever since. Between random trips into Quebec, neighbourhood Holiday parties, and extensive museum browsing, I am exhausted! Really looking forward to relaxing tonight; watching Christmas movies & catching up on my Bloglovin' :)

I'll share with you photos of the Holiday Dinner Party hosted here last night, as well as some touring of the city (Parliament buildings pictured above) & the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec.

This morning I looked at my suitcase in absolute dismay. It's so cold here, I feel like I have nothing remotely weather appropriate to wear. From Saturday in Vancouver, to Sunday in Ottawa, the temperature dropped a whopping 24 degrees - so when I went out this morning I was much less concerned by my outfit of many colours than staying warm & cosy. Multiple warm-weather accessories not shown here ;)

I'm really looking forward to relaxing & enjoying this Christmas holiday. Once it starts snowing (soon, fingers crossed!) I'm going to build a snowman/fort, have a photoshoot in a winter wonderland, & of course do some holiday baking!

December 17, 2011

As much as I love travelling, admittedly I'm a pain to travel with. I over-pack, can barely roll my multiple suitcases with any form of grace, & always forget at least one thing, despite endless list-making. I also always get hung up in airport security (just happened); and my flights often get delayed (just happened). I'm sure one day I'll figure out the travel secret...

My Macbook Pro & some accessories; the Versace H&M box is crammed full of random earrings & bracelets grabbed at the last minute.

And my second carry-on piece? Oh hello beautiful new Michael Kors bag! It's the Hamilton model in Vanilla with gold hardware. It actually weighs a tonne on it's own, so I tried to put only the essentials into it for the flight. Hoping to finally get my Christmas cards written up; especially as I forgot to bring headphones for movie-watching... Oops...

And last but not least - my outfit for the flight! I always dress up & wear heels when travelling; but today I thought of Jenna Marbles recent video & opted for something more practical ;)

Well it's finally time to board, so I'll update you tomorrow during my first day in Ottawa! Thank you so much for reading & please feel free to comment away - I'd love to know what your take is on travel packing/dressing!

December 16, 2011

Hello freedom! My first day off after a 9-day-in-a-row stint at work was still a little stressful, but I did have some fun :) I woke up bright & early to visit Blo in Yaletown. Cara was an absolute doll & braided my hair to perfection! Unfortunately after a day of running around downtown it's looking a little haggard, but nothing that can't be fixed for tonight! Tonight being our unofficial BR staff holiday party, I was going for something a little different (gosh I wish I could [french] braid myself!). I was pleased with the result; though admittedly it was a little too pricey. One of the things I miss most about having my Mom around is her obligingly braiding my hair at my every whim hehe.

Post-Blo I took a delightful trip to Michael Kors. As mentioned in my last post this year's 'Christmas present to myself' is to be a nice new bag. I had intended to visit Holt Renfrew for a little look-see, but to be honest the salesgirls there are just too snobby. It's a stressful experience even going in there, because no matter how dressed-to-the-nines I may be, they still ignore me. Thankfully, the girls at MK were more than obliging & went through purse by purse with me to make sure I made the right choice.

So what bag is inside the bag? Sadly I'm keeping you all in suspense until tomorrow - I'm in a bit of a rush to get ready for tonight; but I promise that I'll share some more photos with you in the morning! :)

Tomorrow we leave for Ottawa for a 2 week holiday. Usually I'm the queen of packing, but I've been so busy with work lately that I haven't even taken out my suitcase. In other words, tomorrow morning is going to be incredibly hectic...

So off I go, to doll up my little black dress & hit the city with my dear work friends. Hope you all have a fabulous Friday night as well! <3

December 14, 2011

For someone my mother used to call a 'bag lady', my current collection has fallen rather short in my reckoning. For as long as I can remember I've hoarded purses, building up quite the collection between age 5 & 22. However after moving from one end of the country to the other, & leaving a solid 4/5th of my wardrobe behind, I'm faced with a serious bag shortage. For the life of me I can't understand what possessed me to leave behind every practically coloured bag I own.... because now I'm stuck between every shade of brown, pink, & blue. Not the easiest colours to match every day, so you see my dilemma.

So this Christmas I've decided my annual 'present to myself' will be a pretty yet practical bag of some sort. I've narrowed it down to something in either black, white/cream, burgundy/red, or metallic/sequin; most likely one of the ones above. I'm really leaning toward either the Marc by Marc Jacobs (it's so undeniably versatile), or a Michael Kors one. I wish I could have them all, so it's a pretty difficult call to make considering I'm one of the world's most indecisive individuals. Here is where you (my lovely readers) come in: please help me decide which one to choose!

I know the love between a girl & a good bag. Before I moved to Vancouver I passed on a miniature green & white tote to the 3 year old love-of-my-life & she was absolutely smitten. I'm looking forward to that feeling again soon. After all, a girl can carry her whole life in her purse :)